Sales of vehicles in the medium and heavy truck segments of the industry at 752 units and 1 670 units respectively, registered substantial declines and, in the case of medium commercial vehicles, reflected a fall of 343 units or 31.3% and, in the case of heavy trucks and buses, a decline of 290 vehicles or a fall of 14.8%, compared to the corresponding month last year.
New vehicle exports were however expected to recover significantly over the medium term on the back of Toyota Hilux light commercial vehicle exports with effect from April 2016 into Africa and from mid-2016 to Europe.
New commercial vehicle sales could perform slightly better on the back of some improvement in fixed investment in the economy during 2016. One source of encouragement emanated from the substantial improvement, for the second month in a row, in the Purchasing Managers’ Index which at 50.5, signalled a possible improvement in business activity levels and manufacturing output over the medium term.
